La Cruz Verde 2021

La Cruz Verde comes from Bodega Soto y Manrique in Cebreros, in the province of Ávila, where Garnacha Tinta grows on the high slopes of the Sierra de Gredos. This is mountain winemaking, and the terroir shapes the wine: the granite and decomposed-granite soils are poor and free-draining, while the altitude brings a wide diurnal swing, with hot days and cold nights that slow ripening and lock in acidity, perfume and a fine, gravelly grip. Old, low-yielding Garnacha on these soils gives a red that is pale in colour but vivid in aroma, the opposite of a heavy warm-climate wine despite the ripeness of the vintage. The wine is aged for fourteen months in 10,000-litre foudres, where the very low ratio of wood to wine allows slow micro-oxygenation to soften the tannins and round the texture while adding little overt oak flavour, so the fruit and the site stay in front. The nose leads with red berries, cherry and rose, then black pepper, thyme and crushed stone. The palate is medium-bodied and fresh, the tannins fine and the finish mineral and savoury. Serve at 15 to 16 degrees, with roast game, lamb or pork.